*They* say it takes 30 days to start a new habit. I must admit that it took less than 30 days for good intentions to be displaced by other things that had hard deadlines, were more exciting or were standing right in front of me. Moving and renovating this summer didn’t help… and then I felt so behind in posting that it was easy to get stuck in not restarting.

I have realized (through working with my amazing coach) that I tend to be pretty hard on myself. I have an idea in my head of what I should be doing and sometimes beat myself up about not getting there. The thing about perfectionism is that it takes my professionalism and dedication to excellence and stops me in my tracks. So instead of getting mostly what I want done, I will start lagging behind. Seriously. Check the date of my last post…

So here’s to kickstarting a new habit, with grace. Here is what helped me get going again:
– Recognizing where I get in my own way of success
– Redefining what success looks like
– Reconnecting with why this is important to me
– Tapping into expertise to get help where needed (I went to a great seminar by Paul Holmes, self professed social media and WordPress Enthusiast. He gave a great overview of how the context of communication has changed for business and dug a little into some of the tools out there. You can find out more about him and his company at paulholmes.ca or IdeaZone.ca. A big thank you to Cambie Village Merchants Association for bringing in Paul from Victoria for the great seminar and Canadian Federation for Independent Business for sponsoring the event.
– Taking a first step. Posting this blog. I am a big believer in starting with a small win. Yay. Clicking “Publish” now…